It’s the middle Mid-term of the semester and you thought you were doing great. But you just got back your midterm and, OMG, the grade’s two notches lower than you expected. How to stave off an epic fail? Read our eight best tips and you’ll find out:

#1 Figure out the real score. Sure, you know you got a 78 on the midterm. But have you considered the impact of that mess-up on the total grade in the course? Though you might not have thought about it in your shroud of despair, in many courses the midterm counts for only 25-percent (or less) of the whole course grade. So before you run for the exits, realize there’s plenty of time to make amends — and rescue your grade.

#2 Don’t miss the post-game show. No matter how badly you think the test went, don’t duck out on the lecture (or section meeting) in which the tests are returned. That’s the time when the professor (or TA) can’t help but whine, berate, or tell the class how badly they did — all the while revealing what the components of the perfect answer were. This is a golden opportunity to see what the professor was looking for. And since profs are conservative beasts, what kinds of questions might pop up on the next test.

#3 Look in the rear-view mirror. Now is the time to figure out exactly what went wrong in your preparation for, and taking of, the test. Did you cut too many lectures or not take complete enough notes in the ones you deigned to show up for? Did you blow off some of the reading or do it while simultaneously tweeting, defriending former facebook friends, and playing World of Warcraft? Did you budget your time badly on the exam or fail to answer exactly what was asked? Whatever the problem, pinpoint what you did wrong and resolve to change your ways.

#4 Feed on the feedback. Your test no doubt came back with plenty of red ink marking places you went wrong and, if you’re lucky, loads of comments saying how you could have done better. This is one of the most important — and most underutilized — resources at college since this is one of the few times the professors is offering individualized evaluation of your work. Throw away the comments and you’ve flushed one of your best chances of improvement down the toilet.

4-Star Tip. Give the grader the benefit of the doubt. Things will go a lot better if you work through the comments with the aim of learning how to improve instead of showing what a doofus the grader was.

#5 Take care of the small things. Many times, especially on a problem-solving test, there was one particular kind of problem that you couldn’t do. Go back to the homeworks, quizzes, lecture notes, and (if your school has them) section meetings, and see if similar problems popped up already then. If you find that they did — and you weren’t 100-percent sure how to do them, even then — get some help from someone who knows. Like a smarter friend, the TA, or the prof him- or herself.

Extra Pointer. Now’s the time to find a study buddy or study group to help you in the future. Skype now offers free video-conferencing for you and up to eight of your cohorts.

Best-Kept Secret. If you’d like some virtual help with your problems, you might try Cramster’s website. Here you’ll find problems solved for over 500 major textbooks (best, and most honest, is to peek at the answers only after you’ve done the problems); homework help (where you can post a question and get answers from folks at least as expert as you — often within a couple of hours); and, for the really adventurous, a customized quiz section (where you can make your own exams and find out whether you’ll do better next time).

#6 Get some face time. Sometimes, when things are really messed up, or when you just don’t get a major concept in the course, it’s worth a trip to the professor’s office hours. Professors regularly see students seeking help after getting bad grades, so why let your neighbors with the C’s get a leg up on you? For some insider tips on going to see the professor, click here.

#7 Make use of campus resources. Colleges invest a tremendous amount of money in “support services” — offices and departments with staff to help students having exactly the problem(s) you are. Depending on the course, you might try the tutoring center, the math or language lab, the writing center, or the academic advancement center. Look, you’ve already paid for these services as part of your tuition and fees, so why not use them when you need them?

4-Star Tip. Check out the college website, your academic adviser, or simply the professor or TA for a list of what’s available. And when you get there, be sure to be 100-percent honest with the counselor about what problem(s) you’re having. They can’t help you if they don’t know what hole you’re in — and how deep it is.

#8 Cheer up. You’ll do a lot better in the rest of the course, if you adopt a positive, “can-do” attitude. Sure, things might not have gone perfectly to date (your midterm shows that), but now you’ve figured out what went wrong and you’re ready to take concrete steps to change. Put those changes into practice right away. Get to the very next class, take perfect notes, do all the homeworks, keep going to see the prof or TA (if you need), and pretty soon you’ll be acing the course. Guaranteed.